I guess I should probably chime in with my own thoughts and suggestions given my past history here on the forums, if anyone is curious. I've touched briefly on the subject in another thread talking about "children's phones", but why not dump my own two cents. Thanks for the idea and the thread,
@SmashYourSmartPhone As always, I'm rolling with a wall of text. There's plenty of info for those with the attention span. It's more of a holistic approach to phone shopping in the spirit of the subject than a rigid track on the subject. I like used electronics, and this guide will reflect that. I also won't link anything tonight, but may come back with a few useful links later in an edit. All the keywords to find the info yourself will be there, though.
PRIMER ON THE PITFALLS OF FEATURE PHONES AND PHONE SHOPPING IN A POST LTE-ONLY WORLDBefore starting, we need to recognize some of the challenges to this approach today. This is mostly going to be a US centric post as that's the majority of the audience here. First, devices must be VoLTE (Voice over LTE) capable/certified handsets on the network you choose to use it on. All three major networks have now completely shut down 2G/3G and 3G-CDMA towers in the United States and similar is happening in other countries now. I've talked about this before, but it never hurts to refresh. There's already been a post talking about an ancient model handset that absolutely won't work on modern networks already.
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Sorry, @TreeLeaf - I don't know what you're talking about, but the SCH-U485 Intensity III was a CDMA only handset from 2012, and will not work or activate on Verizon's modern network. Perhaps you're mistaken about the device model, or you haven't used it since Verizon finally shut CDMA off last year. Could it be another device?)
Unfortunately, AT&T has restricted device activation to only AT&T branded or a shorter list of international friendly flagship phone models by using IMEI whitelists. This means that unless you have an AT&T postpaid account, if you don't bring in a handset that's not already on this short list of approved devices but should still technically work given AT&T's standards friendly implementation of VoLTE? You can't activate it. It will not work on their network. There is a PDF listing the approved handsets, however. This does complicate matters while handset shopping, though... especially if you're looking to do any of what I have laid out below on the more technical end, like firmware replacement ass most of these handsets will have AT&T locked bootloaders even on models that wouldn't normally.
Things only get rougher from here. T-Mobile's VoLTE implementation is sufficiently proprietary enough that they require all handsets capable of VoLTE calling to have a certified VoLTE networking stack. T-Mobile branded and T-Mobile international handsets and flagship phones and the carrier unlocked handsets are all good, but it complicates things if you're looking to wipe firmware depending on the VoLTE implementation.
Finally, there's Verizon. They only activate handsets with LTE Band 13 support. The good news is, their VoLTE implementation is incredibly vanilla, and if you're looking to do third party firmware, most handsets should work, mostly. There's exceptions, and Verizon will lock bootloaders on their branded handsets of models that would otherwise have unlocked bootloaders like AT&T does, but... the selection is probably the biggest on this end.
There's also the issue of internet data access. As much as some of us may long to restrict only to phone calls or phone calls and SMS texting only, there are pitfalls given how many others out there wind up sending MMS messages. If your phone or plan isn't set up with data and able to handle MMS, you could miss out of actual text messages as well from some folk.
Why bring this up, though? Because most feature phones historically, and many that have been sold around the world even in more recent years, have only been 3G GSM handsets. They won't work in the US anymore. Sorry. This makes looking for used feature phones difficult, especially given how few feature phones there really have been that do genuinely support 4G VoLTE phone calling. Given how few options there are in general, it's why I don't close off to the idea of a select list of smartphones as well (despite the topic), but when you get there, you'll understand why I'm including them in this thread anyway, given the nature of the devices and firmware.
Sonim XP3+
I appreciate a good rugged device, and I'd mentioned ruggedized phones in the past myself. Big fan of the old Nokias back in the day. Personally, my only apprehension on this is Android. Android gets bad enough security updates as it is, and is only just that much worse on feature phones. Now, you can mitigate a lot of it by doing things like disabling mobile data and WiFi on the device partially through talk and text only plans with zero data, but disabling mobile internet has the issue of disabling MMS reception for even text only messages that exceed the SMS character count (especially from devices like iPhones and custom emoji/GIF heavy messenger clients on Android), and not just media like photos. Given the poor security history of Android, that's the sort of stuff that makes me nervous, though I can't talk too out of turn on that since I do recommend VoLTE capable (non-Samsung) Android devices that supports modern builds of /e/OS and LineageOS with microG on older Android handsets that have already gone End of Life as an affordable option using otherwise abandoned hardware that's a bit more privacy forward. Bit of a gamble either way, but the risk is low provided you minimize the surface of attack.
Which really brings up my line of suggestions. I know this is a "feature phone" thread, but I do view hobbled smartphones as being compatible with this idea. Trotting out a feature phone may make people talk, but sometimes, the most frugal and eco-friendly option is to exploit the long tail of technology to keep existing hardware out of the trash heap.
OPTION ONE - THE END OF LIFE ANDROID PHONE RUNNING DE-GOOGLED CUSTOM FIRMWARETo that end, I do recommend exploiting the small handful of VoLTE capable Android handsets with unlockable boot loaders that have gone EOL that are still actively supported and have custom ROM builds of /e/OS or LineageOS with microG specifically. Neither firmware have traditional access to the Play Store, and are considerably less privacy invasive. And although /e/OS has an app store that does have some of the commercial datamining apps in it, they also have integrated privacy review ratings with those listed apps telling you what they have embedded in them. As for LOS/microG, you only have access to F-Droid, which pretty well limits you to FOSS apps, which means less convenience, less datamining, and more privacy in general. Pairing it with a minimalist launcher like Bald Phone (which is an excellent elderly-friendly launcher as well) or Niagra, can also help. The only downside is that it does take some technical effort, though the walkthrough documentation to do that is typically done well enough to make it pretty foolproof if you just follow instructions. Even though it's still Android at heart, and technically able to run many of the Android apps, exiting the Google ecosystem still alters your relationship to the device in profound ways.
I will not provide an exact list publicly of the handsets that can work going this route for two reasons: 1) A firm list of these devices will drive aftermarket demand and prices up on a pool of limited options, and 2) It's enough of a technically minded bozo filter to force you to look against the device specs, the network compatibility and the supported device list from these aftermarket ROMs to ensure you know what you're buying and getting into before doing it. If you're smart enough to work out the list of 30 or so handset models that might work and on which networks, you're probably going to be smart enough to handle doing a firmware flash.
OPTION TWO - THE SUPER SHORT LIST OF VoLTE CAPABLE WINDOWS PHONE DEVICESThis is more for the people who still want to take advantage of old end of life smartphones without having to worry about security vulnerabilities or swapping out firmware. There is a very, very, very short list of Windows Phone 8/Windows 10 Mobile devices that had VoLTE support. Each of these devices that do exist are VoLTE devices specific to a network, with no interoperability between networks. These are a good option as feature phones as although it's swipe typing, there's an excellent keyboard with decent predictive text. Although the store is dead and the OS abandoned, the basic functionality still works fresh out of a factory reset. Security isn't an issue as the underlying OS is basically Windows CE/Windows on ARM, they had the security tight, and there's still no known vulnerabilities to the last builds of the OS to this day. There's a lot to love about these old handsets if you can find a good one, like user replaceable batteries.
Again, I won't provide a shopping list, though. It's a shrinking pool of end of life hardware with a dedicated fan base that still exists to this day. If you want a suggestion, I can recommend something in private. I loved the heck out of my old Lumia handsets, but I unfortunately had to move onto Android myself due to specific feature needs that Windows Phone no longer supported. It's still not a path for everyone.
OPTION THREE - THE KOSHER PHONE, FOR THE NON-TECHNICALLY INCLINEDFor the rest of you who just really kinda want to just go shopping for something that works, and has most of the modern internet access bells and whistles ripped out of the OS on KaiOS and Android GO feature phones, or might still have use for certain facets of the the smartphone form factor, but want something that's more set up and akin and feature poor like the old feature phones of yore? Haredi Judaism has your back! Do an internet search for Kosher Phones and take a look at the small handful of retailers selling feature and smartphones that are available. There are varying degrees of Kosher phones out there, some do calls only, some limited to only phone and SMS text messaging with even the cameras disabled, others that support media and even navigation apps. They do cost a bit more than the otherwise retail version of the handsets they carry, but they have a broader selection and you're paying to have some stuff removed from the device. Is it a somewhat false scarcity issue? Yeah, but, what're you gonna do. But, the point is, there are options where if you're looking for a less is more phone, there are phones that have been pre-modified for you to bring back the simplicity and limited functionality of the oldskool mobile dumbphone that are still cheaper than the hipster "digital detox" phones like the Light Phone or Sunbeam. It's also a good way to find specific feature phone models to try and search for with the OEM factory firmware that could work for you even if you don't buy one.
Personally, as far as feature phone operating systems go, KaiOS and Android GO are both terrible options, but all the older legacy systems like Symbian that were amazing feature phone OSes just can't support the VoLTE voice stack. Unfortunately, it impacts battery life, stability, etc. KaiOS has a habit of bitrot after some time usage, forcing you to do a reset, and there's rare security updates. Android GO is in a similar boat with the security updates, and what you gain in stability you lose with battery life. Sadly, feature phones have been neglected overall given the smartphone tsunami of the past decade. Of all the modern makers, though, HMD/Nokia is back in the game with a couple models, and putting out solid handsets. I'd take one of those over an Alcatel, Xiaomi or ZTE rebadge.
That's my hardware advice.
ADJUNCT - MOBILE PLANSWhat about mobile plans for these basic little phones? They don't need much, and as such, you shouldn't pay much either. Realistically, if you're paying more than $10/month for service, you're overpaying for your low usage low internet cellphone. There's really only two MVNOs I'd recommend to look at these days, Red Pocket and US Mobile.
Red Pocket has "unlimited" talk and text with 1GB of high speed data for $10/month on any of the three major networks. They also have cheaper annual plans over on their eBay store with varying amounts of call/text/data typically restricted to a specific network depending on the package. The cheapest one is T-Mobile based only, but only $30/year for 200min/1000 SMS/200MB a month plans.
I've recommended US Mobile in the past, but backed off a bit given their history of hiding fees on their price list, but they've stopped doing that! US Mobile now has 500 min/500 SMS/500 MB plans for $5/month now, all inclusive on either Verizon or T-Mobile's network. And speaking of Kosher phones, they now offer a Kosher plan of "unlimited" talk and text for $7.50/month on both networks as well. Of course, losing internet access hobbles MMS usage as has been mentioned already, but if you're cool with that, more power to you with less cost!
That's all I got. G'night, folks!
Feel free to file any questions, comments or complaints appropriately... I'll add what I can when I can.
